Vacuum nozzle for cleaning underwater surfaces

ABSTRACT

A vacuum nozzle for cleaning underwater surfaces comprising a housing having a centrally-disposed intake channel opening into a hose coupling integally formed therewith. A plurality of brush bristles are secured in a U-shaped, resilient frame which is mounted in a seat or groove disposed in the bottom of the channel of the housing so as to extend outwardly therefrom. An elongated, rigid mounting member, disposed inside the channel, overlaps and engages the ends of the brush bristle mounting frame, and is fastened to a handle mounting member which engages the outside of the nozzle housing. The resilient mounting frame secures both the brush and the handle mounting member on the nozzle housing.

United States Patent [191 Lindberg, Jr.

[ 1 Mar. 5, 1974 VACUUM NOZZLE FOR CLEANING UNDERWATER SURFACES [76] Inventor: Albert W. Lindberg, Jr., 179 W.

Fifth St., Bayonne, NJ. 07002 [22] Filed: Oct. 25, 1972 [21] Appl. No.: 300,691

[52] US. Cl 15/398, 15/1.7, l5/246.5 [51] Int. Cl A471 9/06 [58] Field of Search... l5/1.7, 246.5, 398, 399, 400, 15/180 [56} References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,117,338 1/1964 Stevens 15/400 2,539,054 1/1951 Brever et a1. 15/180 3,402,413 9/1968 Gibellina l5/1.7

FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 707,299 4/1931 France 15/400 Primary ExaminerRobert W. Jenkins Assistant ExaminerC. K. Moore Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Allison C. Collard [57] ABSTRACT A vacuum nozzle for cleaning underwater surfaces comprising a housing having a centrally-disposed intake channel opening into a hose coupling integally formed therewith. A plurality of brush bristles are secured in a U-shaped, resilient frame which is mounted in a seat or groove disposed in the bottom of the channel of the housing so as to extend outwardly therefrom. An elongated, rigid mounting member, disposed inside the channel, overlaps and engages the ends of the brush bristle mounting frame, and is fastened to a handle mounting member which engages the outside of the nozzle housing. The resilient mounting frame secures both the brush and the handle mounting memher on the nozzle housing.

3 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures VACUUM NOZZLE FOR CLEANING UNDERWATER SURFACES The present invention relates to vacuum nozzles, and in particular to vacuum nozzles for cleaning underwater surfaces such as the bottom of pools, and the like.

Conventional vacuum cleaning nozzle brushes generally cannot be replaced when they are worn. The entire nozzle must be discarded, thus, unnecessarily increasing the cost of replacing the nozzle.

Accordingly, the present invention provides a vacuum nozzle which overcomes the disadvantages of conventional devices. The nozzle comprises a housing having a centrally-disposed intake channel opening into a hose coupling integrally formed therewith, and a plurality of brush bristles, secured in a resilient metallic frame mounted in the housing around the nozzle channel opening. A seat or groove is formed on the interior surface of the nozzle in the channel for receiving the resilient mounting frame, and a rigid handle mounting member is securely affixed to the housing for mounting a handle thereon. A rigid mounting member is seured on the inside of the housing in the channel by suitable fastening means, and engages the ends of the resilient frame so as to secure it and the brush bristles in the seat or groove provided in the housing. Fastening means, which are threaded bolts, secure both the handle mounting member, the resilient frame and the rigid mounting member on the nozzle housing on opposite surfaces of one of the walls thereof. A suitable handle is secured to the handle mounting member to facilitate handling of the nozzle by the user.

It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a vacuum nozzle having removable brush bristles.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a vacuum nozzle in. which both the brush bristles and handle thereof are secured by common fasteners thereon.

It is also an object of the present invention to provide a vacuum nozzle which is simple in design, easy to manufacture, and efficient and reliable in operation.

Other objects and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings which disclose an illustrative embodiment of the invention. It is to be understood, however, that the drawings are designed for the purposes of illustration only, and are not intended as a definition of the limits and scope of the invention.

In the drawings, wherein similar. reference numerals denote similar elements throughout the several views:

FIG 1 is a perspective view of a vacuum nozzle constructed in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional side view of the nozzle,- taken along section 22 of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is a partial front view of an interior wall of the nozzle, taken along section 3-3 of FIG. 2.

Referring to the drawings, there is shown a vacuum nozzle, generally denoted as 10, which is constructed of soft resilient material, such as rubber or plastic, comprising an oval-shaped housing 11 and a cylindrical hose coupling 12 integrally formed therewith. The hosecoupling has two sections of different diameter and is connected to a suitable vacuum by a flexible hose 13.

The diameters of the duplex hose coupling are standard, such as, for example, 1% and 1% inches in diameter. Housing 11 is hollow and includes an interior channel space 14 opening into hose coupling 12. Housing 11 also includes a rectangular-shaped seat or groove 15, formed about the housing on its interior surface near the bottom of channel space 14. Aresilient strip mounting frame 1 which has a Ushaped cross-sectional shape, is disposed in the seat or groove. Frame 16 comprises a single, elongated rigid U-shaped member which is bent in an oval shape and disposed in groove 5 So that its two ends 1 are disposed adjacent each other at the rear wall of the housing in channel space 14. A plurality of brush bristles 18 are secured in metal frame 16 and extend downwardly out of channel space 14 in the nozzle housing. Frame 16, and brush bristles 18, form a metal backed brush and are secured in groove 15 by a rigid mounting member 19. Member 19 is sub stantially rectangular shaped, and is secured on nozzle housing 11 by a pair of threaded bolts 20. The bolts are aligned vertically with each other and are disposed in threaded apertures provided in mounting member 19. The bottom portion of member 1 X- tends downwardly past strip frame 16 adjacent thereto and overlaps ends 17 of the frame. Bolts 20 8150 secure a metallic handle mounting member 21, to which a suitable hollow metallic handle 22 is secured, on the housing by machine screws and split-lock washers, Member 19, thus, secures both the mounting handle for the housing and the brush mounting frame on housing 11, and reinforces and strengthens the nozzle and handle combination.

The materials utilized to construct the parts of the in vention described may be of any suitable type, such as hard resilient rubber, plastic, or metal. Clearly, plastic and rubber material provide distinct advantages over metallic materials where the nozzle housing is to be used to clean underwater surfaces.

While only one of the embodiments of the present invention has been shown and described, it will be obvious to those persons of ordinary skill in the art that many changes and modifications may be made thereunto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A vacuum nozzle comprising a housing having a centrally-disposed channel space extending therethrough and a hose coupling integrally formed with said housing and opening into said channel space;

an elongated strip mounting frame;

a plurality of brush bristles mounted in said mounting frame;

an elongated rigid mounting member disposed in said channel space of said housing so that at least one end thereof engages and overlaps the ends of said mounting frame and secures said mounting frame and said brush bristles in said housing;

A seat disposed in the inner wall of said housing and facing said channel space for receiving said mounting frame and securing said frame in said housing; and

a handle mounting member disposed on the outside of said housing and fastened to said rigid mounting member for securing a handle on said housing.

member by threaded bolts, and wherein said members are disposed opposite each other on opposite sides of one wall of said housing, said rigid mounting member securing both said handle mounting member and said mounting frame on said housing. 

1. A vacuum nozzle comprising a housing having a centrally-disposed channel space extending therethrough and a hose coupling integrally formed with said housing and opening into said channel space; an elongated strip mounting frame; a plurality of brush bristles mounted in said mounting frame; an elongated rigid mounting member disposed in said channel space of said housing so that at least one end thereof engages and overlaps the ends of said mounting frame and secures said mounting frame and said brush bristles in said housing; A seat disposed in the inner wall of said housing and facing said channel space for receiving said mounting frame and securing said frame in said housing; and a handle mounting member disposed on the outside of said housing and fastened to said rigid mounting member for securing a handle on said housing.
 2. The nozzle as recited in claim 1, wherein said mounting frame has a U-shaped cross-sectional shape, and wherein said hose coupling comprises at least two portions having different diameters for coupling flexible hoses of different diameters to said housing.
 3. The nozzle as recited in claim 2 wherein said handle mounting member is coupled to said rigid mounting member by threaded bolts, and wheRein said members are disposed opposite each other on opposite sides of one wall of said housing, said rigid mounting member securing both said handle mounting member and said mounting frame on said housing. 